Multiple voltage level driving for electrophoretic displays

- E INK CALIFORNIA, LLC

This application is directed to driving methods for electrophoretic displays. The driving methods comprise applying different voltages selected from multiple voltage levels, to pixel electrodes and optionally also to the common electrodes. In one embodiment, the different voltages are selected from a group consisting of 0V, at least two levels of positive voltage and at least two levels of negative voltage. The driving method is also suitable for a color display device.

Skip to: Description  ·  Claims  ·  References Cited  · Patent History  ·  Patent History
Description

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/695,817, filed Jan. 28, 2010; which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 61/148,746, filed Jan. 30, 2009. This application and is also a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/875,145, filed May 1, 2013; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/633,788, filed Oct. 2, 2012. The above-identified applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to methods comprising applying a voltage selected from multiple voltage levels to drive an electrophoretic display. The methods are also suitable for driving a color display device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An electrophoretic display (EPD) is a non-emissive device based on the electrophoresis phenomenon of charged pigment particles suspended in a solvent. The display usually comprises two plates with electrodes placed opposing each other. One of the electrodes is usually transparent. A suspension composed of a colored solvent and charged pigment particles is enclosed between the two plates. When a voltage difference is imposed between the two electrodes, the pigment particles migrate to one side or the other, according to the polarity of the voltage difference. As a result, either the color of the pigment particles or the color of the solvent may be seen at the viewing side. An EPD may be driven by a uni-polar or bi-polar approach.

However, the driving methods currently available pose a restriction on the number of grayscale outputs. This is due to the fact that display driver ICs and display controllers are limited in speed on the minimum pulse length that a waveform can have. While current active matrix display architectures utilize ICs that can generate pulse lengths down to 8 msec leading to electrophoretic displays which have shortened response time, even below 150 msec, the grayscale resolution seems to diminish due to the incapability of the system to generate shorter pulse lengths.

In addition, the driving methods currently available are not sufficient for driving a color display device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to methods for driving an electrophoretic display, which method comprises applying different voltages selected from multiple voltage levels, to pixel electrodes and optionally also to the common electrode.

More specifically, the driving method for the display device comprising an array of pixels wherein each of said pixels is sandwiched between a common electrode and a pixel electrode, which method comprises applying a voltage to the pixel electrode which voltage is selected from the group consisting of at least four different levels of voltage.

The method allows for multiple voltage levels, specifically, 0 volt, at least two levels of positive voltage and at least two levels of negative voltage.

The method can provide finer control over the driving waveforms and produce a better grayscale resolution.

The first aspect of the invention is directed to a driving method for a display device comprising an array of display cells wherein each of said display cells is sandwiched between a common electrode and a pixel electrode, which method comprises applying different voltages selected from a group consisting of 0V, at least two levels of positive voltage and at least two levels of negative voltage, to the pixel electrode. In one embodiment, the different voltages are selected from a group consisting of 0V, three levels of positive voltage and three levels of negative voltage. In one embodiment, the different voltages are selected from a group consisting of 0V, −5V, −10V, −15V, +5V, +10V and +15V. In one embodiment, the voltage applied to the common electrode remains constant. In another embodiment, the method further comprises applying different voltages selected from a group consisting of 0V, at least two levels of positive voltage and at least two levels of negative voltage, to the common electrode. The different voltages applied to the common electrode are selected from a group consisting of 0V, three levels of positive voltage and three levels of negative voltage. In one embodiment, the different voltages applied to the common electrode are selected from a group consisting of 0V, −5V, −10V, −15V, +5V, +10V and +15V. In one embodiment, the display device is an electrophoretic display device.

The second aspect of the present invention is directed to a driving method for a color display device. The color display device comprises an electrophoretic fluid, which fluid comprises a first type of pigment particles, a second type of pigment particles and a third type of pigment particles, all of which are dispersed in a solvent or solvent mixture, wherein

    • (a) the first type of pigment particles and the second type of pigment particles carry opposite charge polarities;
    • (b) the third type of pigment particles has the same charge polarity as the second type of pigment particles but at a lower intensity; and
    • (c) the second type of pigment particles has a threshold voltage.

The driving method for the color display device comprises applying a voltage selected from the group consisting of (i) 0 volt, (ii) a high positive voltage, (iii) a high negative voltage and (iv) a low positive voltage or a low negative voltage, to a pixel electrode.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-section view of a typical electrophoretic display device.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a driving method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an alternative driving method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a table which shows the possible voltage combinations in a method of the present invention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show driving sequences for color display devices.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a typical array of electrophoretic display cells 10a, 10b and 10c in a multi-pixel display 100 which may be driven by any of the driving methods presented herein. In FIG. 1, the electrophoretic display cells 10a, 10b, 10c, on the front viewing side, are provided with a common electrode 11 (which is usually transparent). On the opposing side (i.e., the rear side) of the electrophoretic display cells 10a, 10b and 10c, a substrate (12) includes discrete pixel electrodes 12a, 12b and 12c, respectively. Each of the pixel electrodes 12a, 12b and 12c defines an individual pixel of the multi-pixel electrophoretic display 100, in FIG. 1. However, in practice, a plurality of display cells (as a pixel) may be associated with one discrete pixel electrode. The pixel electrodes 12a, 12b, 12c may be segmented in nature rather than pixellated, defining regions of an image to be displayed rather than individual pixels. Therefore, while the term “pixel” or “pixels” is frequently used in this disclosure to illustrate driving implementations, the driving implementations are also applicable to segmented displays.

An electrophoretic fluid 13 is filled in each of the electrophoretic display cells 10a, 10b, 10c. Each of the electrophoretic display cells 10a, 10b, 10c is surrounded by display cell walls 14.

The movement of the charged particles in a display cell is determined by the voltage potential difference applied to the common electrode and the pixel electrode associated with the display cell.

As an example, the charged particles 15 may be positively charged so that they will be drawn to a pixel electrode (12a, 12b or 12c) or the common electrode 11, whichever is at an opposite voltage potential from that of charged particles 15. If the same polarity is applied to the pixel electrode and the common electrode in a display cell, the positively charged pigment particles will then be drawn to the electrode which has a lower voltage potential.

In another embodiment, the charged pigment particles 15 may be negatively charged.

The charged particles 15 may be white. Also, as would be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art, the charged particles may be dark in color and are dispersed in an electrophoretic fluid 13 that is light in color to provide sufficient contrast to be visually discernable.

The electrophoretic display 100 could also be made with a transparent or lightly colored electrophoretic fluid 13 and charged particles 15 having two different colors carrying opposite particle charges, and/or having differing electro-kinetic properties.

The electrophoretic display cells 10a, 10b, 10c may be of a conventional walled or partition type, a microencapsulted type or a microcup type. In the microcup type, the electrophoretic display cells 10a, 10b, 10c may be sealed with a top sealing layer. There may also be an adhesive layer between the electrophoretic display cells 10a, 10b, 10c and the common electrode 11.

FIG. 2 shows a driving method of the present invention. In this example, the voltage applied to the common electrode remains constant at the 0 volt. The voltages applied to the pixel electrode, however, fluctuates between −15V, −10V, −5V, 0V, +5V, +10V and +15V. As a result, the charged particles associated with the pixel electrode would sense a voltage potential of −15V, −10V, −5V, 0V, +5V, +10V or +15V.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative driving method of the present invention. In this example, the voltage on the common electrode is also modulated. As a result, the charged particles associated with the pixel electrodes will sense even more levels of potential difference, −30V, −25V, −20V, −15V, −10V, −5V, 0V, +5V, +10V, +15V, +20V, +25V and +30V (see FIG. 4). While more levels of potential difference are sensed by the charged particles, more levels of grayscale may be achieved, thus a finer resolution of the images displayed.

The second aspect of the present invention is directed to a driving method for a color display device. The color display device comprises an electrophoretic fluid, which fluid comprises a first type of pigment particles, a second type of pigment particles and a third type of pigment particles, all of which are dispersed in a solvent or solvent mixture, wherein

    • (a) the first type of pigment particles and the second type of pigment particles carry opposite charge polarities;
    • (b) the third type of pigment particles has the same charge polarity as the second type of pigment particles but at a lower intensity; and
    • (c) the second type of pigment particles has a threshold voltage.

The first type of pigment particles and the second type of pigment particles may be white and black respectively, or vice versa. In this case, the third type of pigment particles is colored pigment particles which are non-white and non-black. The colored pigment particles may be red, green, blue, yellow, magenta or cyan.

Example 1

In FIG. 5, the white pigment particles (51) are negatively charged while the black pigment particles (52) are positively charged.

Because of the attraction between the positively charged black pigment particles (52) and the negatively charged white pigment particles (51), there is a threshold voltage of 5V. Due to the threshold voltage, the black particles (52) would not move to the viewing side if an applied voltage potential difference is 5V or lower.

The colored particles (53) carry the same charge polarity as the black particles which have the threshold voltage, but are slightly charged. The term “slightly charged” is intended to refer to the charge level of the particles being less than about 50%, preferably about 5% to about 30%, the charge intensity of the black or the white particles. As a result, the black particles (52) move faster than the colored particles (53), when an applied voltage potential is higher than the threshold voltage of the black particles because of the stronger charge intensity they carry.

In FIG. 5a, the applied voltage potential is +15V. In this case, the white particles (51) move to be near or at the pixel electrode (55) and the black particles (52) and the colored particles (53) move to be near or at the common electrode (54). As a result, the black color is seen at the viewing side. The colored particles (53) move towards the common electrode (54); however because their lower charge intensity, they move slower than the black particles.

In FIG. 5b, when a voltage potential difference of −15V is applied, the white particles (51) move to be near or at the common electrode (54) and the black particles and the colored particles move to be near or at the pixel electrode (55). As a result, the white color is seen at the viewing side.

The colored particles (53) move towards the pixel electrode because they are also positively charged. However, because of their lower charge intensity, they move slower than the black particles.

In FIG. 5c, the applied voltage potential difference has changed to +5V. In this case, the negatively charged white particles (51) move towards the pixel electrode (55). The black particles (52) move little because of their threshold voltage being 5V. Due to the fact that the colored particles (53) do not have a significant threshold voltage, they move to be near or at the common electrode (54) and as a result, the color of the colored particles is seen at the viewing side.

In this example, the color state is driven from the white state (i.e., FIG. 5b to FIG. 5c).

Example 2

In FIG. 6, the white pigment particles (61) are negatively charged while the black pigment particles (62) are positively charged.

Because of the attraction between the positively charged black pigment particles (62) and the negatively charged white pigment particles (61), there is a threshold voltage of 5V. Due to the threshold voltage, the white particles (61) would not move to the viewing side if an applied voltage potential difference is 5V or lower.

The colored particles (63) carry the same charge polarity as the white particles which have the threshold voltage, but are slightly charged. The term “slightly charged” is as defined above.

In FIG. 6a, when a voltage potential difference of −15V is applied, the white particles (61) and the colored particles (63) move to be near or at the common electrode (64) and the black particles (62) move to be near or at the pixel electrode (65). As a result, the white color is seen at the viewing side. The colored particles (63) move towards the common electrode (64); however because their lower charge intensity, they move slower than the white particles.

In FIG. 6b, the applied voltage potential difference is +15V. In this case, the white particles (61) and the colored particles (63) move to be near or at the pixel electrode (65) and the black particles (62) move to be near or at the common electrode (64). As a result, the black color is seen at the viewing side.

In FIG. 6c, the applied voltage potential difference has changed to −5V. In this case, the white particles (61) move little because of their threshold voltage being 5V. Due to the fact that the colored particles (63) do not have a significant threshold voltage, they move to be near or at the common electrode (64) and as a result, the color of the colored particles is seen at the viewing side.

In this example, the color state is driven from the black state (i.e., FIG. 6b to FIG. 6c).

Therefore, depending on the color state displayed, the pixel electrode is applied a voltage selected from the group consisting of (i) 0 volt, (ii) a high positive voltage (e.g., +15V), (iii) a high negative voltage (e.g., −15V), and (iv) a low positive voltage (+5V) or a low negative voltage (−5V). In this scenario, no voltage is applied to the common electrode.

It is also possible to modulate the voltage applied to the common electrode and apply voltages to the pixel electrode to achieve the voltage potential differences required.

The magnitude of the “low” positive or negative voltage is about 5% to 50% of the magnitude of the “high” positive or negative voltage. For example, if a “high” positive voltage is +10 V, then a “low” positive voltage is +0.5-5 V

More details of the color display device are described in U.S. application Ser. Nos. 13/875,145 and 13/633,788; the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The common electrode and the pixel electrodes are separately connected to two individual circuits and the two circuits in turn are connected to a display controller. In practice, the display controller issues signals to the circuits to apply appropriate voltages to the common and pixel electrodes respectively. More specifically, the display controller, based on the images to be displayed, selects appropriate waveforms and then issues signals, frame by frame, to the circuits to execute the waveforms by applying appropriate voltages to the common and pixel electrodes. The term “frame” represents timing resolution of a waveform.

Although the foregoing disclosure has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in that art that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the process and apparatus of the improved driving scheme for an electrophoretic display, and for many other types of displays including, but not limited to, liquid crystal, rotating ball, dielectrophoretic and electrowetting types of displays. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered as exemplary and not restrictive, and the inventive features are not to be limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A driving method for driving a color display device, which display device comprises an electrophoretic fluid sandwiched between a common electrode and a layer of pixel electrodes and the electrophoretic fluid comprises a first type of pigment particles, a second type of pigment particles and a third type of pigment particles, all of which are dispersed in a solvent or solvent mixture, wherein the method comprising: applying to a pixel electrode a voltage of a high positive voltage; applying to the pixel electrode a voltage of a high negative voltage; and applying to the pixel electrode a voltage of a low positive voltage or a low negative voltage, which is equal to or lower than the threshold voltage, wherein when the low positive voltage or low negative voltage having the same polarity as the second type of pigment particles is applied to the pixel electrode, a voltage potential difference between the common electrode and the pixel electrode drives an area corresponding to the pixel electrode to a color state of the third type of pigment particles, at a viewing side, from a color state of the first type of pigment particles.

(a) the first type of pigment particles and the second type of pigment particles carry opposite charge polarities;
(b) the third type of pigment particles has the same charge polarity as the second type of pigment particles but at a lower intensity; and
(c) the second type of pigment particles has a threshold voltage,

2. The driving method of claim 1, wherein the first type of pigment particles and the second type of pigment particles are black and white respectively, or vice versa.

3. The driving method of claim 2, wherein the third type of pigment particles is non-white and non-black.

4. The driving method of claim 3, wherein the third type of pigment particles is red, green, blue, yellow, magenta or cyan.

5. The driving method of claim 1, wherein no voltage is applied to the common electrode.

6. The driving method of claim 1, wherein the magnitude of the low positive or negative voltage is about 5% to about 50% of the magnitude of the high positive or negative voltage.

7. The driving method of claim 1, wherein the first type of pigment particles is negatively charged and the second and third type of pigment particles are positively charged,

when the high positive voltage is applied to a pixel electrode, the voltage potential difference between the common electrode and the pixel electrode drives an area corresponding to the pixel electrode to the color state of the second type of pigment particles, at the viewing side; or
when the high negative voltage is applied to a pixel electrode, the voltage potential difference between the common electrode and the pixel electrode drives an area corresponding to the pixel electrode to the color state of the first type of pigment particles, at the viewing side; or
when the low positive voltage is applied to a pixel electrode, the voltage potential difference between the common electrode and the pixel electrode drives an area corresponding to the pixel electrode to the color state of the third type of pigment particles, at the viewing side, from the color state of the first type of pigment particles.

8. The driving method of claim 1, wherein the first type of pigment particles is positively charged and the second and third type of pigment particles are negatively charged,

when the high positive voltage is applied to a pixel electrode, the voltage potential difference between the common electrode and the pixel electrode drives an area corresponding to the pixel electrode to the color state of the first type of pigment particles, at the viewing side; or
when the high negative voltage is applied to a pixel electrode, the voltage potential difference between the common electrode and the pixel electrode drives an area corresponding to the pixel electrode to the color state of the second type of pigment particles, at the viewing side; or
when the low negative voltage is applied to a pixel electrode, the voltage potential difference between the common electrode and the pixel electrode drives an area corresponding to the pixel electrode to the color state of the third type of pigment particles, at the viewing side, from the color state of the first type of pigment particles.
Referenced Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
3756693 September 1973 Ota
3892568 July 1975 Ota
4143947 March 13, 1979 Aftergut et al.
4259694 March 31, 1981 Liao
4298448 November 3, 1981 Muller et al.
4443108 April 17, 1984 Webster
4568975 February 4, 1986 Harshbarger et al.
4575124 March 11, 1986 Morrison et al.
5266937 November 30, 1993 DiSanto et al.
5298993 March 29, 1994 Edgar et al.
5378574 January 3, 1995 Winnik et al.
5754584 May 19, 1998 Durrant et al.
5831697 November 3, 1998 Evanicky et al.
5923315 July 13, 1999 Ueda et al.
5926617 July 20, 1999 Ohara et al.
5980719 November 9, 1999 Cherukuri et al.
6005890 December 21, 1999 Clow et al.
6045756 April 4, 2000 Carr et al.
6069971 May 30, 2000 Kanno et al.
6075506 June 13, 2000 Bonnett et al.
6111248 August 29, 2000 Melendez et al.
6154309 November 28, 2000 Otani et al.
6198809 March 6, 2001 Disanto et al.
6337761 January 8, 2002 Rogers et al.
6373461 April 16, 2002 Hasegawa et al.
6486866 November 26, 2002 Kuwahara et al.
6504524 January 7, 2003 Gates et al.
6517618 February 11, 2003 Foucher et al.
6525866 February 25, 2003 Lin et al.
6532008 March 11, 2003 Guranlnick
6538801 March 25, 2003 Jacobson et al.
6600534 July 29, 2003 Tanaka et al.
6639580 October 28, 2003 Kishi et al.
6650462 November 18, 2003 Katase
6657612 December 2, 2003 Machida et al.
6671081 December 30, 2003 Kawai
6674561 January 6, 2004 Ohnishi et al.
6680726 January 20, 2004 Gordon et al.
6686953 February 3, 2004 Holmes
6693620 February 17, 2004 Herb et al.
6704133 March 9, 2004 Gates et al.
6724521 April 20, 2004 Nakao et al.
6729718 May 4, 2004 Goto et al.
6751007 June 15, 2004 Liang et al.
6760059 July 6, 2004 Ham
6796698 September 28, 2004 Sommers et al.
6829078 December 7, 2004 Liang et al.
6864875 March 8, 2005 Drzaic et al.
6903716 June 7, 2005 Kawabe et al.
6914713 July 5, 2005 Chung et al.
6967762 November 22, 2005 Machida et al.
6970155 November 29, 2005 Cabrera
6987503 January 17, 2006 Inoue
6987605 January 17, 2006 Liang et al.
6995550 February 7, 2006 Jacobson et al.
7009756 March 7, 2006 Kishi et al.
7012600 March 14, 2006 Zehner et al.
7019889 March 28, 2006 Katase
7038655 May 2, 2006 Herb et al.
7046228 May 16, 2006 Liang et al.
7177066 February 13, 2007 Chung et al.
7184196 February 27, 2007 Ukigaya
7226550 June 5, 2007 Hou et al.
7242514 July 10, 2007 Chung et al.
7259744 August 21, 2007 Arango et al.
7277074 October 2, 2007 Shih
7283199 October 16, 2007 Aichi et al.
7307779 December 11, 2007 Cernasov et al.
7312794 December 25, 2007 Zehner et al.
7342556 March 11, 2008 Oue et al.
7349146 March 25, 2008 Douglass et al.
7352353 April 1, 2008 Albert et al.
7365732 April 29, 2008 Matsuda et al.
7397289 July 8, 2008 Kojima
7411719 August 12, 2008 Paolini et al.
7417787 August 26, 2008 Chopra et al.
7420549 September 2, 2008 Jacobson et al.
7443466 October 28, 2008 Dedene et al.
7446749 November 4, 2008 Lee et al.
7474295 January 6, 2009 Matsuda
7495651 February 24, 2009 Zhou et al.
7504050 March 17, 2009 Weng et al.
7545557 June 9, 2009 Iftime et al.
7548291 June 16, 2009 Lee et al.
7607106 October 20, 2009 Ernst et al.
7639849 December 29, 2009 Kimpe et al.
7679599 March 16, 2010 Kawai
7686463 March 30, 2010 Goto
7701423 April 20, 2010 Suwabe et al.
7701436 April 20, 2010 Miyasaka
7710376 May 4, 2010 E do et al.
7733311 June 8, 2010 Amundson et al.
7760419 July 20, 2010 Lee
7773069 August 10, 2010 Miyasaka et al.
7786974 August 31, 2010 Zhou et al.
7791717 September 7, 2010 Cao et al.
7792398 September 7, 2010 Tanaka et al.
7800580 September 21, 2010 Johnson et al.
7804483 September 28, 2010 Zhou et al.
7808696 October 5, 2010 Lee et al.
7830592 November 9, 2010 Sprague et al.
7839381 November 23, 2010 Zhou et al.
7868874 January 11, 2011 Reynolds
7911444 March 22, 2011 Yee
7911681 March 22, 2011 Ikegami et al.
7952558 May 31, 2011 Yang et al.
7982941 July 19, 2011 Lin et al.
7995029 August 9, 2011 Johnson
7999787 August 16, 2011 Amundson et al.
8018450 September 13, 2011 Kimura et al.
8035611 October 11, 2011 Sakamoto
8044927 October 25, 2011 Inoue
8054253 November 8, 2011 Yoo
8072675 December 6, 2011 Lin et al.
8115729 February 14, 2012 Danner et al.
8120838 February 21, 2012 Lin et al.
8125501 February 28, 2012 Amundson et al.
8159636 April 17, 2012 Sun et al.
8164823 April 24, 2012 Ikegami et al.
8169690 May 1, 2012 Lin et al.
8228289 July 24, 2012 Nagasaki
8237892 August 7, 2012 Sprague et al.
8243013 August 14, 2012 Sprague et al.
8274472 September 25, 2012 Wang et al.
8334836 December 18, 2012 Kanamori et al.
8395836 March 12, 2013 Lin et al.
8422116 April 16, 2013 Sprague et al.
8462102 June 11, 2013 Wong et al.
20030193565 October 16, 2003 Wen et al.
20040227746 November 18, 2004 Shih
20040246562 December 9, 2004 Chung et al.
20040263947 December 30, 2004 Drzaic et al.
20050179642 August 18, 2005 Wilcox et al.
20060132426 June 22, 2006 Johnson
20060164405 July 27, 2006 Zhou
20060202949 September 14, 2006 Danner et al.
20070035510 February 15, 2007 Zhou et al.
20070052668 March 8, 2007 Zhou et al.
20070070032 March 29, 2007 Chung et al.
20070080926 April 12, 2007 Zhou et al.
20070080928 April 12, 2007 Ishii et al.
20070103427 May 10, 2007 Zhou et al.
20070132687 June 14, 2007 Johnson
20070200874 August 30, 2007 Amundson et al.
20070247417 October 25, 2007 Miyazaki et al.
20070262949 November 15, 2007 Zhou et al.
20070268563 November 22, 2007 Tam et al.
20080042928 February 21, 2008 Schlangen et al.
20080150886 June 26, 2008 Johnson et al.
20080174531 July 24, 2008 Ash
20080303780 December 11, 2008 Sprague et al.
20090096745 April 16, 2009 Sprague et al.
20100103502 April 29, 2010 Jacobson et al.
20100134538 June 3, 2010 Sprague et al.
20100165005 July 1, 2010 Sprague
20100165448 July 1, 2010 Sprague
20100194733 August 5, 2010 Lin et al.
20100194789 August 5, 2010 Lin et al.
20100238203 September 23, 2010 Stroemer et al.
20100283804 November 11, 2010 Sprague et al.
20100295880 November 25, 2010 Sprague et al.
20110096104 April 28, 2011 Sprague et al.
20110175875 July 21, 2011 Lin et al.
20110175945 July 21, 2011 Lin
20110216104 September 8, 2011 Chan et al.
20110217639 September 8, 2011 Sprague
20110261433 October 27, 2011 Sprague et al.
20110292094 December 1, 2011 Lin
20110298776 December 8, 2011 Lin
20120007897 January 12, 2012 Yang et al.
20120120122 May 17, 2012 Lin et al.
20120274671 November 1, 2012 Sprague et al.
20120307346 December 6, 2012 Sprague
20120320017 December 20, 2012 Sprague et al.
20130057463 March 7, 2013 Zhang et al.
20130057942 March 7, 2013 Wang et al.
Foreign Patent Documents
WO 99/53373 October 1999 WO
Other references
  • U.S. Appl. No. 13/370,186, filed Feb. 9, 2012, Wang et al.
  • U.S. Appl. No. 13/551,541, filed Jul. 17, 2012, Yang et al.
  • U.S. Appl. No. 13/633,788, filed Oct. 2, 2012, Wang et al.
  • U.S. Appl. No. 13/875,145, filed May 1, 2013, Wang et al.
  • Kao, WC., Fang, CY., Chen, YY., Shen, MH., and Wong, J. (Jan. 2008) Integrating Flexible Electrophoretic Display and One-Time Password Generator in Smart Cards. ICCE 2008 Digest of Technical Papers, p. 4-3. (Int'l Conference on Consumer Electronics, Jan. 9-13.
  • Kao, WC., Ye, JA., Lin, FS., Lin, C., and Sprague, R. (Jan. 2009) Configurable Timing Controller Design for Active Matrix Electrophoretic Display with 16 Gray Levels. ICCE 2009 Digest of Technical Papers, 10.2-2.
  • Kao, WC., (Feb. 2009) Configurable Timing Controller Design for Active Matrix Electrophoretic Dispaly. IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, 2009, vol. 55, Issue 1, pp. 1-5.
  • Sprague, R.A. (May 18, 2011) Active Matrix Displays for e-Readers Using Microcup Electrophoretics. Presentation conducted at SID 2011, 49 Int'l Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition, May 15-May 20, 2011, Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Patent History
Patent number: 9251736
Type: Grant
Filed: May 13, 2013
Date of Patent: Feb 2, 2016
Patent Publication Number: 20130300727
Assignee: E INK CALIFORNIA, LLC (Fremont, CA)
Inventors: Craig Lin (San Jose, CA), Tin Pham (San Jose, CA), Bryan Chan (San Francisco, CA), Manasa Peri (Milpitas, CA), Ming Wang (Fremont, CA), Yu Li (Fremont, CA), Hui Du (Milpitas, CA), Xiaojia Zhang (Fremont, CA)
Primary Examiner: Jimmy H Nguyen
Assistant Examiner: Hang Lin
Application Number: 13/893,265
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Display Driving Control Circuitry (345/204)
International Classification: G09G 3/34 (20060101); G09G 3/32 (20060101); G02F 1/167 (20060101); G09G 3/20 (20060101);